Closet Remodel: Organization Tips That Are Easy to Maintain
In this post: This master bedroom closet remodel shows how the key to staying organized is to set up systems that are easy to maintain.⇒
I have a confession.
I’ve always been obsessively organized!
Whether it be my desk, my closets, my computer files, or anything else, I can’t relax if things are not perfectly in order. Keeping things neat comes naturally to me, but that’s not the case with everyone else I live with. What I’ve learned over the years is that the key to organization is having systems in place that make upkeep foolproof.
Anyone can clean out a closet, but keeping it that way despite daily pressures is the real challenge. Starting with the master bedroom closet remodel, I’m sharing with you my top closet organization tips that are easy to maintain.
Let’s begin with a before picture. I’m lucky enough, in my new home, to have a bedroom closet that’s quite spacious. But size, in this case, definitely doesn’t matter.
Often, the larger the space, the more junk people fill it with. So if you are concerned that your closet is not as large as what you see here, please keep in mind the same principles work no matter what size your closet is. I promise you, my closet was just as neat in my previous homes when I had far less space.
The photo above is what my closet looked like when we first moved in. It was a big empty area, with cheap wire shelves, randomly hung. This was never going to work for me…
Closet Remodel Design
I’ll also confess, my DIY skills are confined to design. So, I knew I’d be working with a closet company to fulfill my plan, but many of you can achieve these goals doing the building yourselves.
Step one is to determine how much space you need for hanging vs folding. You don’t need me to tell you that you need to edit, so let’s assume you already went through your clothing and parted with the items that no longer work. I literally measured every single inch of my former closet, before we moved, to make sure I could tailor my new space to my exact needs. (I’ll address in a separate post some ideas for the overflow, if your needs surpass your current space.)
Hanging Space
Once you have your hanging space determined and rods installed, it’s time to actually organize what you’re planning to keep there. My primary hanging space shown above, pretty much tells you everything you need to know about my approach. Like items hang together, always facing in the same direction on identical hangers. They are grouped by color with tops on top and bottoms on the bottom.
Always make sure you have plenty of extra hangers because the very first way to undo your system is to buy something new and have no place to put it. (I also practice the ‘one in, one out’ rule, where I try *really hard* to eliminate something every time I add something new.)
Hanging space is fairly obvious, so most of what I’ll address is the rest of your ‘stuff’. I prefer to keep my perfume and makeup somewhere other than the bathroom to keep it fresh and free from humidity. If you have a spot for it, it’s nice to keep perfume bottles on a tray atop a small display shelf.
Folded Space
Folded items are where I get crazy obsessed. The whole point of being organized it to be able to find your things when you are rushing to get dressed, so I always keep my sweaters grouped by color. For my black sweaters, which I have many, I segment even further and group by knit quality.
It’s actually a pleasure to see your things grouped this way. It also helps to show you at a glance what colors you have enough of when you’re going to shop.
If you have a walk-in closet, another nice feature is to add a small ottoman to sit on while you dress.
I’m one of those people that’s crazy about matching hangers. Nothing makes a closet look messy faster than hanging your clothing on flimsy dry cleaning hangers, half broken and all at different heights. Trust me, I know. In the spirit of full disclosure, you will notice I’m only showing 3 sides to this closet. That’s because hubby’s things are on the fourth side and he refuses to let me change his hangers!
In addition to wanting my clothing easy to find, my other key issue is keeping things dust free. For that reason I’ve added a few shelves with glass doors, a perfect place to keep less used accessories.
I also included a few specialty hooks that would help corral items requiring individual treatment. For hubby I added two pull out tie racks, as well as another for hanging belts.
Accessories
You’re probably wondering where I keep my shoes and the quick answer is everywhere! But this also brings me to my secret weapon, an item I use for just about everything. I have a countless number of clear pull out drawers that you’ll continue to see in future posts. I love that they keep things visible, organized and dust free. I use them for all my shoes that are small enough to fit, as well as cosmetics, accessories, undergarments and more. (See resource list below.)
I also added a belt rack to my side of the closet, another set of hooks that slides out for easy use.
One of my favorite extras is the valet hook, a great way to prepare an outfit for a special event. It’s also a great place to hang the clothing that otherwise winds up thrown on a chair.
I often buy cosmetics in bulk for convenience, and while I keep my everyday items on my dressing table, I keep the extras in the plastic drawers.
I left taller space at the bottom of the shelving to accommodate my boots. Inexpensive plastic boot trees help keep the boots lined up neatly while ensuring they maintain their shape.
On my top shelves I store less often used handbags, but always keep them covered in plastic or their dust jackets.
Above is a glimpse of the closet shelves with the plastic bins filled with everything under the sun.
For shorter booties I use a narrow shelf… as I said, I keep shoes everywhere!
I even have more plastic drawers tucked beneath my hanging clothes and, of course, they hold more shoes.
Above is the second valet hook and below you can see a full length mirror attached to the back of the closet door.
I remember once filling out an online questionnaire that asked ‘what do you have on your closet floor?’ I answered then, as now, with all honesty, absolutely nothing. What do you have on your closet floor?
Resource Guide
To get the look, click on the items below for direct links to the products. Where actual items were no longer available, I’ve provided similar options. If an item is out of stock but may be restocked, I left it on the list.
(This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.)
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Amazing! I’m in the process of designing my own walk in closet and I will definitely use some of these ideas. TFS. Visiting from Dream, Create, Inspire
Ah, I look forward to seeing yours, as well… 🙂 Thanks for the kind words and for taking the time comment!!
I’m with you…I don’t function well if things aren’t organized. It just makes life so much simpler and less time consuming when you have everything compartmentalized. Those clear plastic boxes are great for shoes. I find that clothes create a lot of fiber dust, so anything that can be stored in containers stays much cleaner. Like you, I organize by color…so easy to put an outfit together in a hurry. Enough talk about closets…I’m loving what’s IN yours! You have beautiful clothes and shoes, girl.
Ha ha, thanks Bobbi! Well, I am a former fashion designer… 😉
Really amazing! I feel that I am pretty organized, but I don’t hold a candle to this! We have a walk in closet, but it’s a narrow L shape. I have two shelving units one for me and one for hubby filled with baskets. I agree with the hangers all alike theory. Most of mine are, but I need to go buy another package. I’ve used the velvety ones from T.J. Maxx. The problem that I have is my boots. They are just sitting on the floor underneath my clothes on hangers. I need to figure something else out. Thanks for sharing with SYC.
hugs,
Jann
Thanks, Jann! My closet in my last house was also narrow, but it was still set up very similarly to this- just with a lot less walk space. I use the slim line flocked hangers for my tops. They’re great. For boots, I guess the trick is to try to find somewhere where they can stand up and then get the boot trees. Makes all the difference in the world… 🙂
I hang my boots on skirt multiple hangers
Holds even the heavy ones
Ooooh, great idea!
The ones with the clips
Yes, love that!
Currently, almost all the contents of my room, as I’m remodeling it, LOL. I normally just keep a big tote of out-of-season clothes and boots on the floor, though… but as soon as my room is suitable to live in again, I want to reorganize my closet. 🙂 You have such great ideas here! I don’t know why organizing according to colour and material never occurred to me…
Ha ha, yes, I’ve been down that remodeling path… 🙂 I actually love it because it means you’ll have something great when you’re done! And yes, I’m really big on keeping things grouped by color. Part of it is so that things are easier to find and part is that it just looks more organized. Of course, when 90% of your sweaters are black turtlenecks, it doesn’t make a huge difference! Lol…
Great ideas! Pinned and tweeted. Thanks for coming to our party and sharing such an amazing masterpiece! I hope to see you next Monday @7 because we love to party with you! Happy Thursday! Lou Lou Girls
Thanks so much and thanks for hosting!!
Oh My Gosh! Organized and you smell like Jo Malone. 🙂 Can I be your friend?
Madonna
best.comment.ever! Yes!! 🙂
Great job . Love it . Ricki is lucky. How big is this closet
Thanks, Sheree! Rick gets about one wall out of the four… lol! I think it’s 10′ x 10′ if I remember correctly.
We’ve very similar closets, except that I don’t have a full length mirror nor the Chanel book(s) – I have Agatha Christie biographies (there are several) and a book or two on her home. Oh, and flowers (thanks to you).
Beautiful closet that matches the rest of your beautiful home!
Hi Lori
I dream of one day having a closet like yours
I have a very large walk-in closet so to have it organized would be wonderful.
Seems like when we don’t have space for something I always say put it in the closet.
So beautiful Lori.
Your closet is the size of a small bedroom. So envious! You might be a bit OCD. ?
My walk in is long versus wide but I do have it well organized. All my hangers are white and my clothes are organized by tees broken down to short, 3/4, long and organized by colours, then shirts, sweaters, jeans, pants. My dresses hand on the back of the closet bar with long duster sweaters and bathrobes. My shoes are on racks, organized by style. I love a closet that at first glimpse you find your outfit for the day. Oh, and my hubby gets a small rack for his minimal amount of clothing. He’s not a shopper and doesn’t care about clothes. I guess that’s my good luck. More room for me!?
At the start of every season, I look over my clothes, discard any that don’t fit, are spoiled or outdated. That way I know what I need to shop for. I must admit that I have a thing for striped tees and have far too many. Why do I keep buying them?
My coats and jackets are in a large hall closet. During seasons of cold or rain that is all most people see, so I have many. If it’s an addiction, then not a bad one.
Closet talk gets me excited. Crazy, eh?
Beautiful closet and organization. I’m curious as to where you bought your hangers that you use for your slacks. Your link did not show these….from what I could tell anyway.
Thank you and thanks for the heads up about the missing link! I’ve added it into the post, but here it is for your convenience: https://rstyle.me/n/c349rqb63g7 (affiliate link)
Hello, I am getting serious about organizing one space at a time and enjoyed this post. I have already implemented the clear shoe box tip. A couple of questions— how do you organize necklaces and bracelets? I’m tempted to hang my costume necklaces but not sure if that is a good idea. I plan to purchase a clear craft box to store earrings. Thank you for posting organizing suggestions!
I used to hang necklaces in my old home and I actually love that idea. I never put the hooks up here so right now, I have them in a clear box, but I don’t wear nearly as many necklaces as I do earrings. For bracelets, I keep them in a small box in a drawer, as well. But again, I’m more of an earring girl than anything else.
Beautiful! But I’ve got to ask…WHEN do you wear all that stuff! ?
Haha! I’m a jeans and blazers girl, so that’s what’s mostly in my closet. But like most people, I tend to wear the same 3 things all the time… ???
I am so glad that I caught this post. I have been wanting to gut my closet and start over. I have a smaller closet and don’t quite know how to get organized. You have given me the nudge I need. You provided some great ideas ?! I Wish you and your family a new year filled with JOY and good health. XOXO
Thank you so much and wishing you the same!!
It’s beautiful Lory.
My husband is going to put together a closet unit for me next month.
We purchased the closet maid units at Wayfair. It was reasonably price. I also purchased clear boxes for my shoes.
I can’t wait to see it finished.
I will be posting on
http://www.muchloverose.wordpress.com
Enjoy your closet.
Much love,
Rose
Sounds fabulous, Rose! Let me know when it’s up. Can’t wait to take a peek!
OH MY GOSH! Your closet is amazing! And wow, you have a lot of clothes. My closet could fit in the corner of yours but never the less you’ve inspired me to go through, purge, and reorganize. I do however, have my shoes in plastic boxes on the top shelf with a picture of the shoes on the front so I can see what I’m grabbing. I look forward to seeing more of your organizational skills.
Ah, sounds like you’ve got the skills you need to be completely organized! Just keep at it… 🙂 Did you see yesterday’s post about kitcchen organization? If you missed it you can see that one here: https://designthusiasm.com/kitchen-organization-storage/
Definately going to check out the kitchen organization post. I signed up to receive your posts. Yay!
Awesome!! Thanks!
I just went through my closet, donated a few things and have purchased a few new passions, leggings with the pocket and long tunics to cover my bum. Love them. I don’t use plastic shoe boxes, but use the hanging canvas pocket holders for shoes, tops, long fancy dresses, all same length, but different capacities. So fabulous. They attach to the rod by velcro and I have used them for Years!!! My top shelf is lined with vintage suitcases and hold extras, scarves. purses, clothes for my dress form collection. I also put my tall boots on the top shelf with pool noodles cut to size to support them. So much easier and cheaper than shoe trees. I also invested in velour white hangars and hang everything uniformly. I also just purchased under shelf wire baskets to use up the dead headspace on the wire shelving because you can stack folded tops just so high, then they topple! Plus, I just finished recently, but won’t be buying anymore hangars…if I buy anything else, something has to be donated!!
Sounds like you’ve got it perfectly under control!
Your closet is a dream!
Aww thanks!!
Hey lori, I think the closet is very well organized, I like the idea of clear boxes for the shoes, and hooks for the belts , I recently bought hangers that drop down so you can put 5 blouses on one hanger or pants, but I have to say that purplish dress was so pretty, it must look great on you lol. Sorry to get off the subject thanks for the tips very helpful Thanks again.
Thank you!!
Your closet looks amazing! We need to get rid of our builder grade wire shelves and replace with shelving units before we can move ahead with our plans.
One day that project will be done:0)
You have so many sweaters! My Christmas ask this year is for comfy, easy wash, no itch sweaters for every day..not fancy ones!
I have not seen a person other than movie stars who have so many clothes and you said that when you bring something in something must go. Sorry you are not even close to my simple life and minimal middle class clothes allowance.
Mary Ellen
Well, that should make it even easier to organize… 😉
To be clear, I share this closet with my husband, and 2 of the walls have mostly shoes and accessories, but I did work in the fashion industry for 25 years, so yes, I have lots of blazers and jeans. I’ll bet the ranch you have more dresses than I do, though. My section for dressy clothes is VERY small.
I have two dresses, one casual one dressy.
I am closet organizationally obsessed also. One thing I do differently on double hanging sections is to hang my tops on the bottom rack and pants on top. Since pants are usually shorter than tops when hung, that leaves extra storage at a level that is easier to see and reach. Love reading your blog. Enjoy your style.
Great idea! I keep a row of shoe drawers beneath my pants, so I like the extra space, but the point is well taken… 🙂